Joseph Fiennes

Despite the long shadow cast by his older brother, Ralph Fiennes, actor Joseph Fiennes carved out a comfortable niche in compelling independent and foreign features. Like many actors from England, Fie...
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Two movies opened nationwide and battled for box office booty this weekend, but in the end, as the pirates sharpened their swords, the gentlemen walked the plank.
The swashbuckling tale Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl sailed away with a $46.4 million* booty over the weekend. Since its release July 9, Pirates has tallied $70.4 million.
But not even Allan Quartemain and his legion of historic superheroes could help Fox's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen muster up a defense against Disney's gang of mutinous pirates. The literary action thriller traipsed away with a rather ordinary $23.2 million.
Pirates, which is based on a popular Disneyland attraction, took in an estimated $23.8 million in its first two days in theaters and didn't lose momentum through the weekend.
"It amazes us," Disney Film distribution chief Chuck Viane told Reuters Friday. "Johnny (Depp) is so fabulous. This movie plays great, and that is why you jump out on a Wednesday and go see it."
Last week's box office topper, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, dropped to third place with $19.6 million, followed by Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, which settled in fourth position with $12 million. The summer season's mainstay movie, the animated fish tale Finding Nemo, rounded out the Top Five with $8.2 million.
Lead by Pirates, this weekend was the first up weekend after four down weekends in a row. The Top 12 films this weekend grossed an estimated $135.9 million, up 3.4 percent from the same weekend last year.
THE TOP TEN
Buena Vista Pictures' PG-13 rated fantasy actioner Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl bowed in first place at the box office this weekend with an ESTIMATED $46.4 million at 3,269 theaters. Its $14,194 per theater average was the highest of any film playing this weekend. Its five-day cume is $70.4 million.
The film, based on a Disney theme park attraction, centers on the roguish yet charming pirate who comes to the rescue of a young woman and teams up with the blacksmith who loves her to exact revenge on his mutinous shipmates.
Directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.
Twentieth Century Fox's PG-13 rated period thriller The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen debuted in second place with an ESTIMATED $23.2 million at 3,002 theaters with a $7,745 per theater average.
Set at the start of the Industrial Age, a league of extraordinary gentlemen, a collection of literary figures with superpowers, must come together to stop an evil force from starting a war between the world's nations.
Directed by Stephen Norrington, it stars Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West and Jason Flemyng.
Warner Bros.' R rated Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines dropped two notches to third place in its second week with an ESTIMATED $19.6 million (-55%) at 3,504 theaters (unchanged; $5,598 per theater). Its cume is approximately $110.4 million.
Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken.
MGM's PG-13 rated Legally Blonde 2: Red, White &amp; Blonde fell two rungs to fourth spot in its second week with an ESTIMATED $12 million (-46%) at 3,375 theaters (+25 theaters; $3,556 per theater). Its cume is approximately $62.8 million.
Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Regina King, Bob Newhart and Jennifer Coolidge.
Buena Vista/Disney and Pixar Animation Studios' G rated computer-animated feature Finding Nemo fell only one spot in its seventh week to round out the Top Five with an ESTIMATED $8.2 million (-29%) at 2,643 theaters (-259 theaters; $3,103 per theater). Its cume is approximately $290.8 million and is on the way to surpassing the $300 million mark.
Directed and co-written by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, it features the voices of Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe and Brad Garrett.
Sony Picture's PG-13 rated Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle dropped three places to sixth in its third week with an ESTIMATED $7.3 million (-48%) at 3,202 theaters (-283 theaters; $2,280 per theater). Its cume is approximately $81.6 million.
Directed by McG, it stars Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Bernie Mac.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.
DreamWorks' PG rated animated feature Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas jumped a notch to sixth place in its second week with an ESTIMATED $4.6 million at 3,086 theaters (unchanged; $1,491 per theater). Its cume is approximately $19.1 million.
Directed by Patrick Gilmore and Tim Johnson, it features the voices of Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfeiffer, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Joseph Fiennes.
Fox Searchlight's R rated sci-fi thriller 28 Days Later dropped one place to eighth in its third week with an ESTIMATED $4.2 million (-29%) at 1,396 theaters (+78 theaters; $3,044 per theater). Its cume is approximately $28.4 million.
Directed by Danny Boyle, it stars Cillian Murphy, Naomi Harris, Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns.
Universal Pictures' PG-13 rated The Hulk plummeted four places to No. 9 in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $3.7 million (-55%) at 2,575 theaters (-716 theaters, $1,437 per theater). Its cume is approximately $124.7million.
Directed by Ang Lee, it stars Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte.
Paramount Pictures' PG-13 rated actioner The Italian Job moved two places to tenth in its seventh week with an ESTIMATED $2.7 million (-34%) at 1,364 theaters (-220 theaters; $1,364 per theater). Its cume is approximately $88.8 million.
Directed by F. Gary Gray, it stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def and Edward Norton.
OTHER OPENINGS
Paramount Classics' PG-13 rated drama Northfork opened in five theaters with an ESTIMATED $61,364 with a strong $12,273 per theater average.
Set in 1955, the film centers on the town of Northfork, which is about to be flooded to make way for a new hydroelectric project. A team of six trenchcoated men has been assigned to remove the last few stragglers before its Heartland houses will be swept away.
Directed by Michael Polish, it stars James Woods, Nick Nolte, Daryl Hannah and Anthony Edwards.
Sony Picture Classics' PG-13 rated romantic drama Cuckoo opened in six theaters with an ESTIMATED $17,209 and a $2,868 per theater average.
The film revolves around a Russian idealist, a Finish college student and a Swedish peasant woman who find themselves confined to a tiny backwoods hut near the end of WWII. Unable to speak each other's language, the two men begin to fall in love with the woman and are forced to let their body language speak for them.
Directed by Alexander Rogozhkin, it stars Anni-Kristina Juuso, Wille Happsalo and Viktor Bychkov.
WEEKEND COMPARISON
The Top 12 films this weekend grossed an ESTIMATED $135.9 million, up 7.28 percent from last week's take of $126 million. The Top 12 films were also up from the same weekend last year they grossed $131.5 million.
Last year, Sony's PG-13 rated Men in Black II was No. 1 at the box office in its second week with $24.4 million at 3,611 theaters (+54 theaters; $6,760 per theater); Dreamwork's R rated Road to Perdition bowed to No. 2 with $22 million at 1,797 theaters ($12,287 per theater), while Buena Vista's PG-13 rated fantasy actioner Reign of Fire debuted in third place with $15.6 million at 2,629 theaters ($5,946 per theater).

Top Story
Comic book aficionado Nicolas Cage sold his personal collection for a cool $1.6 million at an auction in Los Angeles Thursday. The 400 items in the catalog included the 1938 rare Actions Comics No. 1 where Superman first debuted, which sold for $86,250, as well as the 1940 Detective No. 38, where Batman's sidekick Robin made his first appearance. That one went for $121,000. "He had a very good eye for quality," Heritage Auction chairman James Halperin told Reuters of Cage's meticulous collection. No explanation has been given as to why the Oscar-winning actor decided to auction off his comics.
Celebs
Skynews.com reports that Brad Pitt and his wife Jennifer Aniston had to be rescued by the LAPD when they were trapped in an expensive Beverly Hills furniture shop. Seems throngs of press and adoring fans surrounded the store and the two couldn't get out. After the police escort got them back to their car, however, the fab couple discovered they had gotten a parking ticket, according to Sky News. Oh, the irony of it all.
Director Kevin Smith (Dogma; Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) will have a street named after him in Paulsboro, N. J. The Jersey native has been filming his off-beat love story Jersey Girl, starring real-life couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, in the small town, and as a show of appreciation, the mayor wants to rename a street in Smith's honor.
A London court of appeal today "reluctantly" found in favor of Vanessa Frisbee, Naomi Campbell's former personal assistant, according to court papers. This was Frisbee's second appeal of the summary judgement against her for breach of contract. A lower court found that Frisbee had breached her contract when she told the News of the World tabloid that Campbell had physically attacked her when she failed to cover up an alleged fling between Campbell and actor Joseph Fiennes. At the time, the court papers say, Campbell was still living with Formula One boss Flavio Briatore. Frisbee argued that Campbell had wrongfully terminated her contract and that Frisbee was therefore freed from her confidentiality clause. Frisbee also claims she was entitled to disclose the information because it was of "public interest."
Deaths
WWII historian and author Stephen E. Ambrose, who worked as a consultant for Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and who was best known for his book Band of Brothers, which was made into an Emmy-winning HBO miniseries, died Sunday after a six-month battle with lung cancer. He was 66.
Movies
Several large-scale props worth nearly $55,000 were stolen from the set of Mike Myers' The Cat in the Hat, including an 8-foot-long pair of dark blue glasses, a 4-foot golf tee and a blue golf ball 7 feet in diameter and weighing nearly 200 pounds. The police do not have any suspects, but Sgt. Rod Baker of the LAPD quipped to the Associated Press, "We have ruled out the Grinch."
Tube
Fox has inked a deal with actress Shannon Elizabeth to develop a series for the 2003 fall schedule. The American Pie star is leaning toward doing a comedy.
Theater
Shrek may be heading toward Broadway's bright lights. Get the full story at our sister site, www.broadway.com.

Top Story
Stuff magazine has compiled a tongue-in-cheek list of 2002's biggest losers and two Hollywood celebs have made the list. New Zealand actor Russell Crowe, who starred in last year's drama A Beautiful Mind, was ranked No. 2 with the recommendation that he should lighten up. Also on the list was The West Wing star Martin Sheen for apparently thinking he really is the president. The top honors went to Steven the Dell Guy, whose real name is Ben Curtis. "The Dell Guy was ubiquitous," Stuff editor in chief Greg Gutfeld told Reuters. "The only reason he's perceived as being successful was because he was ubiquitous." Also on the list: the FBI, for publicly identifying a suspected anthrax mailer who now plans to sue the agency for defamation, and airport security workers, with the citation, "they couldn't spot a real terrorist if they had 'Death to Infidels' tattooed on their foreheads."
Celebs
Woody Harrelson, Joseph Fiennes and Audrey Tautou (Amelie) were among the celebs attending the opening of 46th annual London Film Festival, which runs until Nov. 21. Gwyneth Paltrow was on the guest list, but was a no-show, The Associated Press reports. The festival will showcase about 200 new films, including 8 Mile, The Quiet American and Dirty Pretty Thing.
Movies
Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now was voted the greatest film of the last quarter century by British film experts, Reuters reports. The poll was organized by the British Film Institute's Sight &amp; Sound magazine, which asked a panel of 50 film experts to consider 259 films made between 1978 and now.
A former Lucasfilm employee accused of stealing $450,000 worth of property from the company pleaded innocent Wednesday to four counts of unlawful access to a computer system and nine counts of theft, the AP reports. Shae O'Brien Foley is accused of taking thousands of items from Lucasfilm and providing an early version of the film to movie writer Harry Knowles, who posted the review on his Web site before the film opened in theaters.
Tube
Sharon Osbourne has inked a deal with Telepictures Prods. to mount a single-issue talk show set to debut in syndication for fall 2003, Variety reports. The format would be a welcome changed for Osbourne, who told Barbara Walters this week that if the family were to do it over again, they would not have done the MTV show.
Kim Delaney, who costars with David Caruso in the new CBS drama CSI: Miami, is leaving the series after 10 episodes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. According to a statement released Thursday by CBS, the show's producers felt Delaney's character of Megan Donner was becoming less integral to the series as the season progressed. Delaney was not a member of the show's original cast featured in the pilot.
Music
AC/DC, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Police and The Clash have been named as 2003 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Reuters reports. The 18th annual induction ceremony will be held in New York on March 10. Former Police bassist and singer Sting said on his Web site, Sting.com: "I am very proud of the legacy of The Police. We were a a damn good band and it still holds up." The trio, which included Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, broke up in 1985.
Books
Magician David Blaine has a new book out called Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic, and if you read it, you could be $100,000 richer. According to Fox News, the book will be peppered with clues that will lead the reader to a 25-karat solid gold orb and Blaine's phone number. Dial it and Blaine will show up with a check for $100,000--and you get to keep the orb.

Heather Graham certainly has been with her fair share of Hollywood hunks.
The 35-year-old actress of Austin Powers fame has been linked to such actors as James Wood, Cher's son Elijah Blue Allman, knight Heath Ledger and actor/director Edward Burns, her longest relationship.
Now, according to London's Mirror, Graham has been seen snuggling with Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro.
Let's hope Graham has finally found the right guy.
Graham was last seen in the Jack the Ripper flick From Hell, co-starring Johnny Depp and appear in next year's twisted sexual drama Killing Me Softly, co-starring Joseph Fiennes.

Cats and Dogs reigned at the box office, fetching $21.6 million in ticket sales for Warner Bros.
Also driving the post-July Fourth weekend were high impact arrivals for Dimension Films' Scary Movie 2 and 20th Century Fox's Kiss of the Dragon and very encouraging sneaks for MGM's Legally Blonde.
The PG rated family appeal comedy Cats and Dogs from Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, combining live action with animation and special effects, captured first place with a purr-fectly beautiful ESTIMATED $21.6 million at 3,040 theaters ($7,240 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $35.7 million.
Cats opened Wednesday (July Fourth) with a slim lead over the holiday's other new wide release, the R rated Scary Movie 2 from Miramax's Dimension Films label. Both films benefited from widespread rain across the United States on July Fourth with Cats doing $9.02 million and Scary Movie 2scaring up $8.75 million. On Thursday, July 5 Scary Movie 2 took in $5.26 million while Cats grossed $5.03 million.
Cats' average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
"The great thing about Cats and Dogs is that it's been playing so well for family audiences," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "We're going to be around for a long time. You know, with all the movies coming in, there's really nothing for the young kids."
Focusing on Cats' first five days business, Fellman noted, "This gross beats the first seven days of Space Jam, which grossed $32 million for the week. That's been our largest Warner family film in our company's history. That went on to do $90 million (in domestic theaters). Just trying to look at something similar, Stuart Little, it grossed $27 million its whole first week. That went on to do $139 million (domestically). So I think we have a really good chance of exceeding the $100 million mark since we had such a great start.
"I assume we're going to do at least $40 million for the first week. And we have all this summer play time. We opened Space Jam at Thanksgiving so it didn't have the benefit of having a Saturday every single day (the way summer releases do)."
Dimension Films launched its R rated horror film spoof sequel Scary Movie 2 in second place with a killer ESTIMATED $21.0 million at 3,220 theaters ($6,521 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $34.5 million.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, it stars Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Chris Masterson and Kathleen Robertson.
The original Scary Movie opened last July 9 to $42.35 million at 2,912 theaters ($14,542 per theater). It cost about $19 million to produce and went on to gross about $157 million in domestic theaters.
"We're very happy with the opening," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "It's good enough that Bob (Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax and head of the Dimension label) this morning is already talking about, maybe, another sequel. With this kind of opening we might see Scary Movie 3.
"Scary Movie 2 is poised to be the third highest week in the history of the company (after) Scary Movie and Scream 3. Obviously, from that we're very, very happy from a corporate standpoint. With $34.5 million in five days -- the budget was in the mid-$40 millions roughly -- we're in really good shape here."
Who was on hand this weekend? "Demographically it was pretty even male-female," Kaminow replied. "African-American audiences are really responding very, very well to the film. We think the play there is going to be long. And 18 to 24 is the solid core group, (which) is not surprising. The African-American (exit) scores were above average -- the Top Two Boxes in the 80 percents and the Definite Recommend in the low 80 percents as well, which is a great place to be.
Warner Bros. and DreamWorks' PG-13 rated sci-fi fantasy adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence slid two pegs to third place in its second week with a quieter ESTIMATED $14.15 million (-52 percent) at 3,242 theaters (theater count unchanged; $4,363 per theater). Its cume is approximately $59.7 million.
Written and directed by Steven Spielberg, it was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Spielbergand Bonnie Curtis. Starring are Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt.
"A.I. continues the pattern of other huge films that opened this summer," Warners' Dan Fellman said. "Fast and the Furious dropped 50 percent (its second weekend) and Tomb Raider dropped 59 percent. And both movies have already exceeded $100 million at the box office. I think we'll settle in and we'll play fine. We needed to settle in this week. We'll just continue to play. There's still a tremendous amount of interest in the movie and people are continuing to talk about it. We have our adult audience and they'll continue to drive the movie for quite a while."
20th Century Fox's R rated action drama Kiss of the Dragon kicked off in fourth place with a muscular ESTIMATED $13.64 million at 2,025 theaters ($6,736 per theater).
Directed by Chris Nahon, it stars Jet Li and Bridget Fonda.
"We're very pleased with it," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said Sunday morning. "It's in the area where we were hoping to be."
Noting that it's an extremely competitive marketplace, Snyder added, "It's even hard to figure out how much of a holiday or non-holiday this weekend was, the way the Fourth fell. But it looks like a real solid weekend. We've got six movies doing over $10 million this weekend."
Universal's PG-13 action drama The Fast and the Furious fell three rungs to fifth place in its third week with a slower ESTIMATED $12.4 million (-38 percent) at 2,804 theaters (+81 theaters; $4,405 per theater). Fast, which cost a modest $38 million, has a cume of approximately $101.5 million.
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment's PG rated comedy sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 dropped three notches to sixth place in its third week with a less funny ESTIMATED $10.1 million (-36 percent) at 3,022 theaters (-31 theaters; $3,342 per theater). Its cume is approximately $71.5 million, heading for $100-105 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Steve Carr and produced by John Davis, it stars Eddie Murphy.
Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider slipped three slots in its fourth week with a weaker ESTIMATED $6.8 million (-33 percent) at 3,010 theaters (-339 theaters; $2,259 per theater). Its cume is approximately $115.6 million, heading for $130 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Simon West, Tomb stars Angelina Jolie.
DreamWorks' PG rated computer animated blockbuster Shrek dropped one rung to eighth place in its eighth week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $6.0 million (-22 percent) at 2,107 theaters (-597 theaters; $2,855 per theater). Its cume is approximately $240.6 million heading for $250 million-plus in domestic theaters.
Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, its voice talents include Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis fell three pegs in its fifth week to ninth place with a less turbulent ESTIMATED $5.0 million (-39 percent) at 2,272 theaters (-758 theaters; $2,201 per theater). Its cume is approximately $69.4 million.
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Columbia's R rated African-American appeal drama Baby Boy, down five pegs in its second week and packing less punch with an ESTIMATED $4.8 million (-44 percent) at 1,533 theaters (theater count unchanged; $3,131 per theater). Made for about $16 million, its cume is approximately $20.8 million, heading for a profitable $30 million in domestic theaters.
Written, produced and directed by John Singleton, it stars Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg and Ving Rhames.
This weekend also saw Lions Gate Films' unrated erotic drama Lost and Delirious arrive to a not very arousing ESTIMATED $0.045 million at 7 theaters ($6,440 per theater).
Directed by Lea Pool, it stars Piper Perabo.
Miramax's R rated comedy Everybody's Famous opened to a quiet ESTIMATED $0.017 million at 4 theaters ($4,250 per theater).
Written and directed by Dominique Deruddere, it stars Josse De Pauw.
"That goes to about 10 runs on Friday," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
This weekend saw MGM hold very encouraging sneak previews Friday night at about 818 theaters of its PG-13 rated comedy Legally Blonde.
Directed by Robert Luketic, the Marc Platt production stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge with a special appearance by Raquel Welch. Produced by Platt and Ric Kidney, its screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz &amp; Kirsten Smith is based on the book by Amanda Brown.
Blonde will open Friday at over 2,000 theaters.
MGM said Blonde was sneaked in 101 markets, playing to 75 percent of capacity and that 50 percent of its showings were sold out. Those on hand for the sneaks were 25 percent under the age of 18 and 45 percent between 18 and 25. Women accounted for about two-thirds of the ticket sales.
"It was really a very, very good sneak," MGM marketing and distribution president Bob Levin said Sunday morning. "Very strong. In the exits we do, we've got close to 90 percent in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) and a very strong over-75 percent Definite Recommend. Those are the kind of numbers you really hope you get in sneaks because you're trying to drive word of mouth and those are the kind of numbers you need to drive word of mouth. So we're very pleased."
Levin, a well regarded industry veteran who previously headed marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Disney, joined MGM in late June as the studio's distribution and marketing chief.
Asked how the idea of sneaking Blonde came about, Levin explained, "What happened is we had a great reaction to the film at the premiere (held on June 26) and it was one of the exhibitors who happened to mention it to one of our distribution executives and it seemed like a great idea. So we immediately decided to adopt it (and thought) we should sneak it. This is the perfect kind of movie to sneak, where you aren't being driven by a huge potential fixed marketing opening but you have a movie that really plays well. So why not sneak it?"
Who is the target audience for Blonde? "Well, certainly more female than male," Levin replied. "But we have found in the exits we've done that actually guys like the movie as well, but it has to be (regarded as) slightly more female than male. What has been shown through these sneaks is that the actual likeability of the film is across a broad spectrum -- from even pre-teens all the way through what we categorize as older women (those 30 and older)."
Although the marketplace is crowded with product, there's really nothing like Blonde in theaters now. "I think that's why we have a tremendous opportunity," Levin observed. "And that's why the sneaks made sense because we get to advance the word of mouth. This kind of response that these numbers suggest is the response you get where people show up Monday at work or school or camp or wherever they are and really talk about the movie. So it's great on that kind of basis. I think, hopefully, we really do have sort of a unique offering in the marketplace right now."
Blonde marks the start of what could be a strong second half of the year for MGM. "I think we're about ready to, hopefully, do some very good business through the end of the year on a number of different films," Levin noted.
Among the releases upcoming via MGM are the suspense thriller Original Sin, directed by Michael Christofre and starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas, and the horror genre film Jeepers Creepers, directed by Victor Salva and starring Gina Philips, both opening in August.
Arriving in September is the drama Deuces Wild, directed by Scott Kalvert and starring Fairuza Balk, Stephen Dorff and Matt Dillon.
October will bring Bandits, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett and Billy Bob Thornton, and Killing Me Softly, directed by Chen Kaige and starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes.
In November MGM has the action adventure Windtalkers, directed by John Woo and starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach and Christian Slater.
The studio's action adventure fantasy Rollerball, directed by John McTiernan and starring Chris Klein, L.L. Cool J and Jean Reno, was recently moved from August to early next year.
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Fox Searchlight's R rated critically acclaimed British crime thriller Sexy Beast continue to widen in its fourth week, still showing good legs with an ESTIMATED $0.71 million (even) at 134 theaters (+25 theaters; $5,325 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.1 million.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, it stars Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley.
"We feel very good," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "We opened a lot of new smaller markets that did quite well. In the fourth week, we're holding extremely well and we're quite pleased. The film seems to be settling in and getting good word of mouth. The holdovers still did quite nicely. The holdovers fell less than 20 percent, so we're very pleased with that."
Where does it go from here? "Well, this week we add another round of theaters," Gilula replied. "We're going to add 30 screens and go into another 20 markets or so, a bunch of smaller cities (like) Albuquerque, Pittsburgh, Boise, Buffalo and we'll just keep going. As long as the momentum continues, we'll just keep expanding every week. We'll probably get up to, I would think, around 200 runs. Some of the smaller runs will come off, but we'll just keep moving the prints around the country."
With its cume now at about $3.1 million, Gilula said, "We're clearly going to get past $5 million, which for this film will be very successful for us. It's already a financial success for us. My estimate goes up a little each week because of how well the runs are holding in the big cities."
Fine Line Features' R rated comedy The Anniversary Party went a little wider in its fifth week with a still bubbly ESTIMATED $0.45 million (+9 percent) at 107 theaters (+4 theaters; $4,245 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.6 million.
Written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, its ensemble cast includes Jane Adams, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, Alan Cumming, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey and John C. Reilly.
Lions Gate Films' PG-13 rated drama Songcatcher continued to widen in its fourth week with a dull ESTIMATED $0.25 million at 67 theaters (+30 theaters; $3,690 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.61 million.
Directed by Maggie Greenwald, it stars Janet McTeer and Aidan Quinn.
Miramax's R rated French comedy The Closet went wider in its second week with a still promising ESTIMATED $0.21 million at 16 theaters (+12 theaters; $13,043 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.38 million.
Directed by Francis Veber, it stars Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte and Michele Laroque.
"This Friday it will probably expand to about 30 to 40 runs," Miramax's David Kaminow said.
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $129.3 million, down about 6.45 percent from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $138.2 million.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 5.42 percent from last weekend this year when key films took in $122.65 million.
Last year, Dimension Films' opening week of Scary Movie was first with $42.35 million at 2,912 theaters ($14,542 per theater); and Warner Bros.' second week of The Perfect Storm was second with $27.12 million at 3,407 theaters ($7,960 per theater).The top two films one year ago grossed $69.4 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $43.0 million.

"Exit Wounds" entered theaters in first place despite industry research suggesting more moviegoers wanted to see "Enemy at the Gates."
"Exit," from Warner Bros. in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, is a Silver Pictures production teaming up Steven Seagal and DMX. The R-rated action film topped the chart with a record-setting estimated $19.03 million at 2,830 theaters ($6,723 per theater).
Directed by Andrez Bartkowiak, "Exit" was produced by Joel Silver and Dan Cracchiolo. It stars Steven Seagal and DMX and was executive produced by Bruce Berman.
"It's the biggest March opening in Warner history, which is very exciting," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "It's the biggest movie Steven Seagal has ever opened and the same with DMX, who was in 'Romeo Must Die.' And it's the sixth Number One movie in a row that Joel Silver has opened for us. That's a record I don't know who has. We're very excited about this. It's certainly a great way to end the first quarter.
"The exits were great. People really liked it. We had 88% in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) and a 75% Definite Recommend. So this picture should be around for a while."
Asked where it could wind up, Fellman replied, "I think this picture could be $60-75 million."
DMX's previous film, "Romeo Must Die," opened via Warner Bros. March 24, 2000, in second place to $18.5 million. It went on to gross about $56 million in domestic theaters.
Seagal's last starring role was in "Fire Down Below," which opened Sept. 5, 1997, to $6.1 million and went on to gross $16.1 million in domestic theaters.
Prior to that, Seagal starred in "The Glimmer Man," opening Oct. 4, 1996, to $7.6 million and winding up with $20.4 million domestically. "Executive Decision" opened March 15, 1996, to $12.1 million and got to $56.7 million domestically. "On Deadly Ground" opened Feb. 18, 1994, to $12.7 million and reached $38.6 million. "Hard To Kill" kicked off Feb. 9, 1990, to $9.2 million and ended up with $47.4 million domestically.
Paramount's R-rated World War II drama "Enemy at the Gates" from Mandalay Pictures opened a solid Number Two, although it had been flying higher than "Exit" on Hollywood's advance radar screens.
"Enemy" invaded second place with a friendly estimated $13.6 million at 1,509 theaters ($9,013 per theater).
"Enemy" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in wide release last weekend.
Produced and directed by Jean-Jacques Annuad, "Enemy" stars Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins and Ed Harris.
"It's on the high side of where we thought it was going to get," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "I had it (projected at) $10-12 million going into the weekend. Obviously, this is beyond what we were looking for."
Asked about reports that research scores had been showing "Enemy" looking bigger than "Exit," Lewellen replied, "I think it probably was, but we're only (about) 1,500 runs versus their 2,800 or so."
Why didn't Paramount go wider with "Enemy?" "The (marketing) campaign really made the film look like an action movie more so than, in fact, it is," Lewellen explained. "It's really a love story, character development and so forth. It's a really upscale movie for the most part. The problem is, if you go that wide with it, you get out there and before people figure out what it is -- particularly for the older audience -- it can be out of some of these smaller markets before they ever find the film.
"We will expand it to some extent -- maybe 100 or 200 runs -- this week (moving up to) 1,600 or 1,700."
DreamWorks' R-rated drama "The Mexican" added theaters but still fell two slots to third place in its third week with a less spicy estimated $8.1 million (-34%) at 3,162 theaters (+203 theaters; $2,571 per theater). Its cume is approximately $50.9 million.
"Mexican" should wind up being nicely profitable for DreamWorks since it reportedly only cost about $40 million and its two superstars took much lower salaries than usual.
Directed by Gore Verbinski, "Mexican" stars Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
Warner Bros.' G-rated family appeal comedy "See Spot Run" from Village Roadshow Pictures continued to show strong legs, dropping one peg to fourth place in its third week with an estimated $5.21 million (-21%) at 2,656 theaters (theater count unchanged; $1,962 per theater). Its cume is approximately $25.0 million.
"Spot" reportedly cost only about $15 million to produce and should be very profitable for Warners both in theaters and home video.
Directed by John Whitesel, "Run" stars David Arquette.
"It's great. This picture's headed for $40 million-plus," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning.
New Line's R-rated drama "15 Minutes" plunged three rungs to fifth place in its second week with a slow estimated $4.35 million (-59%) at 2,337 theaters (theater count unchanged; $1,861 per theater). Its cume is approximately $17.9 million.
Written and directed by John Herzfeld, "Minutes" stars Robert De Niro and Edward Burns.
Sony Pictures Classics' Oscar-contending, PG-13-rated action adventure "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" held on to sixth place in its 15th week, still showing great legs thanks to its Oscar nominations with an estimated $4.12 million (-3%) at 1,860 theaters (+104 theaters; $2,214 per theater). Its cume is approximately $100.3 million.
"Tiger" is nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director. Director Ang Lee, having won the Directors Guild of America's feature directing award, is the favorite to win the Best Director Oscar.
Directed by Ang Lee, "Dragon" stars Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat.
"Elated! We're very proud and happy -- and on to the Oscars," Sony Pictures Classics sales vice president Tom Prassis said Sunday morning.
"I don't want to speculate (about where it winds up if it wins or doesn't win). I think the film's already accomplished much more than we'd hoped. Anything from now is going to be gravy."
Paramount's PG-13-rated comedy "Down to Earth" dropped two pegs to seventh place in its fifth week with a less funny estimated $4.0 million (-28%) at 2,425 theaters (-96 theaters; $1,649 per theater). Its cume is approximately $56.8 million.
Directed by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, "Earth" stars Chris Rock.
MGM and Universal's R-rated thriller 'Hannibal" finished eighth, down four rungs in its sixth week with a calm estimated $3.7 million (-38%) at 2,433 theaters (-514 theaters; $1,535 per theater). Its cume is approximately $157.0 million, heading for $175 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Ridley Scott and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, Martha De Laurentiis and Ridley Scott, "Hannibal" stars Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore.
Miramax's PG-13-rated, Oscar-contending romantic comedy drama "Chocolat," which was ninth last week, tied for ninth place in its 14th week, still holding very well thanks to its Oscar momentum with an estimated $3.4 million (-12%) at 1,901 theaters (-27 theaters; $1,788 per theater). Its cume is approximately $55.8 million.
"Chocolat" is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture.
"I think we'll be at $60 million through next Sunday, by the Oscar ceremonies," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "And, hopefully, we'll get it to $70 million."
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, "Chocolat" stars Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin and Johnny Depp.
USA Films' R-rated, Oscar-contending drama "Traffic," which was eighth last week, tied for ninth place in its 12th week, still benefiting from b ing in the Oscar nominations spotlight with an estimated $3.4 million (-12%) at 1,682 theaters (+4 theaters; $2,027 per theater). Its cume is approximately $102.5 million.
"Traffic" is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic" stars Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
"We can pretty much estimate that it will come in at $115 million total without winning (Best Picture)," USA distribution president Jack Foley said Sunday morning. "This is one that if it wins, it's a story. You know, this whole thing with 'Nightline' doing (a five-part show later this month dealing with drug issues addressed in the movie) is going to be like infomercials. Frankly, it could go to $125 million and (thanks to the TV exposure) despite the competition in the market, it could go further than that. Now can you imagine if it wins? It could go into the stratosphere. That's what film's all about when it takes over popular culture."
OTHER OPENINGS Newmarket's R-rated film noir thriller "Memento" opened to a promising estimated $0.23 million at 11 theaters ($20,971 per theater).
Directed by Christopher Nolan, it stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano.
Warner Bros.' PG-13-rated comedy "The Dish " opened to an encouraging estimated $0.072 million at 6 theaters ($12,000 per theater). Its cume after five days is approximately $0.088 million.
Directed by Rob Sitch, "Dish" stars Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Patrick Warburton, Genevieve Moody, Tayler Kane.
"We're very pleased with that," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "Friday night we did $17,754. Then Saturday we went up 75% and did $31,184. While it's not record breaking, it's substantial, and every day we've had strong increases. So I think word of mouth is kicking in on this movie."
SNEAK PREVIEWS MGM held a second round of about 1,000 sneak previews Saturday night of its PG-13-rated comedy "Heartbreakers" from Davis Entertainment. The film opens March 23 at about 2,500 theaters.
"They were 75% full. We were 50% full last week (when 627 sneaks were held), so we went up," MGM marketing executive Amanda Lundberg said Sunday morning. "Our audience was 56% female, 44% male. 25-and-over is 58%. Under-25 is 42%. And in our exit polls we were 94% in the Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) with a Definite Recommend of 68%."
Directed by David Mirkin and produced by John Davis and Irving Ong, "Heartbreakers" stars Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ray Liotta, Jason Lee, Jeffrey Jones and Gene Hackman.
EXPANSIONS On the expansion front, this weekend saw Sony Pictures Classics go wider with its R-rated drama "Pollock" in its sixth week, grossing a solid estimated $0.73 million (-5%) at 218 theaters (+63 theaters; $3,355 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.8 million.
"Pollock" received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Ed Harris) and Best Supporting Actress (Marcia Gay Harden).
Directed by Ed Harris, "Pollock" stars Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden.
USA Films' PG-rated drama "In the Mood For Love" added a theater in its seventh week with an okay estimated $0.18 million (-29%) at 74 theaters (+1 theater; $2,477 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.9 million.
Written and directed by Wong Kar-Wai, "Love" stars Tony Leung and Maggie Chung.
"I'm delighted about that," USA distribution president Jack Foley said Sunday morning. "This is such a small film. If it keeps the momentum going, (it should wind up with) $2.75-3 million."
USA Films' R-rated reality TV satire "Series 7" added theaters in its third week with an okay estimated $0.037 million at 10 theaters (+3 theaters; $3,705 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.11 million.
Written and directed by Daniel Minahan, "Series" stars Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Mary Louise Burke, Richard Venture, Michael Kaycheck and Merrit Wever.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $79.46 million, down about 8.05% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $86.42 million.
This weekend's key film gross was up about 16.41% from last weekend this year when key films did $68.26 million.
Last year, Universal's opening week of "Erin Brockovich" was first with $28.14 million at 2,848 theaters ($9,880 per theater); and Buena Vista's second week of "Mission To Mars" was second with $11.39 million at 3,060 theaters ($3,721 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $39.5 million. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $32.6 million.

Moviegoers fell in love with "Heartbreakers" this weekend, giving MGM its second straight first place opening this year.
The PG-13-rated romantic comedy from MGM and Davis Entertainment captured the top spot with a frisky estimated $12.3 million at 2,750 theaters ($4,468 per theater).
Directed by David Mirkin, "Heartbreakers" stars Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Gene Hackman.
"Two in a row," MGM worldwide distribution president Larry Gleason said Sunday morning, referring to the studio's Number One openings for "Hannibal" in February and now "Heartbreakers." "The last time (MGM had two consecutive first place openings) was 1995 with 'Get Shorty' and 'GoldenEye,' which were back to back pictures. The Lion is back again!
"This is right where we wanted ('Heartbreakers') to be. We're happy for it. The plan that we had of aggressively screening this picture (with sneak previews two consecutive Saturday nights) and showing that it was fun also helped us get an audience that's a little bit younger. Jennifer Love Hewitt was a key to that. The fact that we have her in this movie has enabled us to get more young people in."
Looking at the film's audience composition, Gleason noted it was, "60-40 female-male. It got a 68% definite
recommend against a norm of 50% and that's great. It was pretty evenly older women-younger women, males were a
little bit lighter. The Top Two Boxes (excellent and very good) are 83%. It bodes well for the future."
Sony's Screen Gems division opened its R-rated urban appeal comedy "The Brothers" in second place with a
muscular estimated $10.7 million at 1,378 theaters ($7,765 per theater).
"Brothers" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in wide release last weekend.
Written and directed by Gary Hardwick, "Brothers" stars Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy and Shemar Moore.
"This is a very focused release with half the prints of the other top pictures this week and has an incredibly strong screen average," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing &amp; distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning. "It has an A CinemaScore, which really makes you believe that those 1,378 runs are going to be playing for a long time."
"Brothers" should be nicely profitable for Sony. "It's a $6 million negative," Blake said. "We always had our eye on Universal's release of 'Best Man,' which was similar certainly (in being an) African-American romantic comedy. They opened Oct. 22, 1999, in 1,346 screens to $9,031,660 and did $34.1 million. So we always have had our eye on that one, and the fact that we've beat it pretty significantly really gives us hope that this is definitely a picture we can get into the mid-$30 millions or $40 millions. At a $6 million cost, that's a terrific piece of business."
Sony's Screen Gems label, he said, "is really on a bit of a roll here after 'Snatch.' Their next release is (the horror genre drama) 'The Foresaken' on April 27 (directed by J.S. Cardone and starring Kerr Smith and Brendan Fehr), and then they have 'John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars' (directed by Carpenter and starring Ice Cube, Jason Statham and Natasha Henstridge) this summer. It's a very wonderful, focused marketing job by the Screen Gems group. You can give the credit to Valerie Van Galder, who's the head of marketing, and Clint Culpepper, who's the head of production. They really teamed up for a good one here."
Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures' R-rated action drama "Exit Wounds" slid two pegs to third place in its second week with a less-penetrating estimated $9.23 million (-50%) at 2,830 theaters (theater count unchanged; $3,260 per theater). Its cume is approximately $32.6 million.
Directed by Andrez Bartkowiak, "Exit" was produced by Joel Silver and Dan Cracchiolo. It stars Steven Seagal and DMX and was executive produced by Bruce Berman.
Paramount's R-rated World War II drama "Enemy at the Gates" from Mandalay Pictures added theaters in its second week but still fell two rungs to fourth place with a quieter estimated $8.4 million (-39%) at 1,677 theaters (+168 theaters; $5,009 per theater). Its cume is approximately $26.2 million.
Produced and directed by Jean-Jacques Annuad, "Enemy" stars Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins and Ed Harris.
"I was a little disappointed in the Friday figure, but Saturday came back real strong. We were down 29% on
Saturday, and I'm figuring about 40% today (Sunday) because the Academy Awards will impact us a little more than it will some of the other films, (because 'Enemy' is) more adult and a little more upscale," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning.
Sony Pictures Classics' Oscar-contending, PG-13-rated action adventure "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" rose one peg to fifth place in its 16th week, still basking in the glow of its 10 Oscar nominations with an estimated $4.65 million (+15%) at 2,027 theaters (+167 theaters; $2,295 per theater). Its cume is approximately $106.3 million.
"Tiger's" nominations include Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director. Director Ang Lee won the Directors Guild of America's award and is favored to win the Best Director Oscar.
Directed by Ang Lee, "Dragon" stars Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat.
Asked where "Tiger" goes from here, Sony Pictures Classics sales vice president Tom Prassis said Sunday morning, "We'll know tonight. I have a goal in mind if it wins, but I'm not going to tell you what that is. It's a significant number."
Have the nominations been a big help to "Tiger" at the box office? "They have," Prassis replied, "but I think the film has really done it on its own, as well. I'm not sure if it would have done $100 million (without its Oscar attention). But there are people who are going to see it over and over again. A lot of them are kids, and those aren't the people who pay attention to the Academy Awards. Right now we're reaching the people of my generation, who do follow the awards, I think more than before. That's who we're going after now. There's a lot of them."
DreamWorks' R-rated drama "The Mexican" skidded three notches to sixth place in its fourth week with a dull estimated $4.3 million (-46%) at 3,043 theaters (-119 theaters; $1,419 per theater). Its cume is approximately $57.7 million.
Directed by Gore Verbinski, "Mexican" stars Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
USA Films' R-rated, Oscar-contending drama "Traffic" rose three pegs to seventh place in its 13th week, still making the most of the Oscar nominations spotlight with an estimated $3.9 million (+14%) at 1,684 theaters (+2 theaters; $2,320 per theater). Its cume is approximately $107.6 million, heading for about $120 million if it does not win Best Picture and about $140 million if it does.
"Traffic" is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic" stars Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Miramax's PG-13-rated, Oscar-contending romantic comedy drama "Chocolat," which was ninth last week, tied for eighth place in its 15th week, still holding very well on the eve of the Oscars with an estimated $3.3 million (-4%) at 1,781 theaters (-120 theaters; $1,852 per theater). Its cume is approximately $60.6 million.
"Chocolat" is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture.
"It'll probably work its way to just about $70 million," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow
said Sunday morning of the film, which only cost around $15 million. "This is definitely a profitable situation."
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, "Chocolat" stars Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin and Johnny Depp.
Warner Bros.' G-rated family appeal comedy "See Spot Run" from Village Roadshow Pictures, which was fourth last week, tied for eighth place in its fourth week with a slower estimated $3.3 million (-33%) at 2,605 theaters (-51 theaters; $1,282 per theater). Its cume is approximately $29.2 million, heading for $40 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by John Whitesel, "Run" stars David Arquette.
Rounding out the Top Ten was 20th Century Fox's opening of "Say It Isn't So" with a disappointing estimated $3.1 million at 1,973 theaters ($1,572 per theater).
Directed by J.B. Rogers, "Say" stars Heather Graham and Chris Klein.
OTHER OPENINGS
There were no other noteworthy openings this weekend.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
20th Century Fox held 189 sneak previews Saturday night of Fox 2000's PG-13-rated comedy "Someone Like You." The film opens March 30 at about 2,000 theaters.
"The reports I've gotten back are fabulous," Fox domestic distribution president Bruce Snyder said early
Sunday morning as he was starting to get details about the sneaks. "All the reports so far are sell-outs. I haven't
gotten all of them in, but they're very encouraging, very pleasing. It played wonderfully. It's a date night movie."
Directed by Tony Goldwyn, "Someone Like You" stars Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear and Hugh Jackman.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, this weekend saw Sony Pictures Classics go wider with its R-rated drama "Pollock" in its seventh week, grossing a still colorful estimated $0.85 million (+13%) at 271 theaters (+42 theaters; $3,119 per theater). Its cume is approximately $4.9 million.
"Pollock" received Oscar
nominations for Best Actor (Ed Harris)
and Best Supporting Actress (Marcia Gay Harden).
Directed by Ed Harris, "Pollock"
stars Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden.
"Very respectable. In an ordinary year, this would be a big film (for the company)," Sony Pictures Classics sales vice president Tom Prassis said Sunday morning, after discussing the blockbuster success of "Crouching Tiger."
Newmarket's R-rated film noir thriller "Memento" added a theater in its second week and continued to look very promising with an estimated $0.24 million (even) at 12 theaters (+1 theater; $19,627 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.6 million.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, it stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano.
USA Films' R-rated reality TV satire "Series 7" added a theater in its fourth week with a slow estimated $0.026 million (-28%) at 11 theaters (+1 theater; $2,320 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.15 million.
Written and directed by Daniel Minahan, "Series" stars Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Mary Louise Burke, Richard Venture, Michael Kaycheck and Merrit Wever.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $76.40 million, down about 3.98% from
the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $79.57 million.
This weekend's key film gross was down about 2.48% from last weekend this year when key films did $78.34 million.
Last year, Universal's second week of "Erin Brockovich" was first with $18.55 million at 2,851 theaters ($6,505 per theater); and Warner Bros.' opening week of "Romeo Must Die" was second with $18.01 million at 2,641 theaters ($6,821 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $36.5 illion. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $23.0 million.

Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) becomes an unwilling hero of World War II when he rises from the bottom of the Russian ranks to a coveted sniper position with the help of Soviet political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes). A master at publicity Danilov turns Vassili into a national hero by publishing Vassili's extraordinary sniping exploits and together they boost the flagging spirits of the Russian army as it attempts to resist the Nazi invasion of Stalingrad. But Hitler wants this city which means Vassili's got to go. Enter the celebrated Major Konig (Ed Harris) a ruthless Nazi sharpshooter sent to Stalingrad to hunt Vassili down and kill him. Oh yeah and there's this love triangle thing between Vassili Danilov and Tania (Rachel Weisz) a female soldier.
This reviewer would watch eye-candy Jude Law in a bad Internet short and as grimy and bloody and war-torn as he gets in two hours he's still mighty fine. Oh yeah and he's good as the humble somewhat bewildered Vassili. You can't help thinking though that no backwoods kid from the Urals (Russia's version of hillbilly country) is going to have the effortless grace beauty and upper-crust Brit accent that make Law more suited for roles like the one he played in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Fiennes is fine as his backstabbing best friend. Weisz as Tania is unnecessary (and please no more closeups of her having sex fer chrissakes - her love scene with Law is so over-the-top it looks more like he's killing her than making love to her. It's a particularly cruel-looking Harris though who commands the screen in a skillful performance almost solely conveyed through his eyes and facial expressions.
Why is it Hollywood used to be able to tell a good war story without a) the nonstop carnage and b) the backside-numbing two-hour-plus run time? Director Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet) proves once again that his movies are nice to look at but lack much substance - probably why a promising epic with a good cast like this was released in March instead of Oscar season. Accents were weirdly inconsistent settings improbable and characters virtually undeveloped. Good points: The opening scene reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan with all the bloodshed but less f/x is quite chilling and Annaud gives us glimpses of creativity (the showdown between Harris and Law in the broken glass-strewn factory is one of the few inspired scenes in the movie).

HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 22, 2000 - We pity the fool who ain't pumped up about the return of "The A-Team."
Variety says today that Fox 2000 will do an updated movie remake of the old TV series about four ex-Army commandos on the lam.
The flick has yet to be cast, but according to the trade paper, plans are for a 2001 release.
THE 'QUIET' TYPES: Brendan Fraser ("The Mummy") and Michael Caine will probably star in "The Quiet American," adapated from Graham Greene's novel about Vietnam, The Hollywood Reporter says.
A FIENNES 'KILLING': Variety reports that Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare In Love") might star opposite Heather Graham in "Killing Me Softly," the first English-language film from Chinese director Chen Kaige.
BEING 'SIMONE': Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore") will join the cast of "Simone," a flick about a passe producer starring Al Pacino, the Reporter says. Catherine Keener ("Being John Malkovich") might also join the project.
GRAMMER TRIPPING: Daily Variety reports that Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier's") will produce a net show called "Gary the Rat" exclusively for Mediatrip.com.

Portrayed William Shakespeare, opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, in the period romance "Shakespeare in Love"

Summary

Despite the long shadow cast by his older brother, Ralph Fiennes, actor Joseph Fiennes carved out a comfortable niche in compelling independent and foreign features. Like many actors from England, Fiennes studied theater, particularly Shakespeare, where he delved into the finer nuances of his craft while performing the classics. He did struggle, however, in those early years, living hand-to-mouth while performing on the stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company. But he finally emerged to become an international star with his winsome portrayal of a young and lovesick Bard in "Shakespeare in Love" (1998). The Oscar-winning film propelled his profile into the stratosphere, giving Fiennes his pick of projects at that time. But instead of enhancing his newfound stardom, he followed his own path by returning to the stage while churning out a string of often little-seen independents, only to occasionally emerge in larger films like "Enemy at the Gates" (2001), "The Great Raid" (2005) and "Running with Scissors" (2006). Ironically, Fiennes often found himself accosted by the tabloid press for his exploits with various models and actresses, including Naomi Campbell and Catherine McCormack, despite being intensely private; perhaps a result of him casting off the typical trappings of being a successful and talented performer.

Education

Name

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Young Vic Youth Theatre

Notes

"I know more about the characters I play. That's awful, isn't it? I seem to be able to invest more time in dissecting others' thoughts and motivations than in looking at my own. But maybe, in doing that, I can reveal parts of myself." - Joseph Fiennes quoted in the London Times, April 1, 1995

"I was at a very impressionable age and the whole wild adventure of Ireland is etched on my memory." - Fiennes on his upbringing, quoted in The Irish Times, April 27, 1997

"My only goal when I went to drama school was to do classical theatre and 'hold hands' with great writers. Now, with film, there is this terrifying beast of publicity which launches you forwards. I wonder whether the speed of my career is being determined through people trying to suck up the new young talent, or by the quality of my work. In film it all boils down to money. You are just a commodity which is manipulated." - Fiennes quoted in the London Times, May 4, 1998

"Fiennes clearly does not suffer from the sensitiveness of his famous brother. There are no long, awkward silences while he searches for the right phrase, as if he fears to see it in print. His clear brown eyes are direct and challenging. There's even a touch of laddishness about him." - from "The Little Brother With a Big Future" by Garth Pearce in The London Times, April 26, 1998

Asked to compare working with both Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, Australian actress Cate Blanchett told the London Times (April 26, 1998): "Ralph is very complex and intense, but has a wicked sense of humour bubbling under the surface. Joseph is open, direct, focused and a secret trickster. But both are incredibly beautiful to look at and gifted beyond belief. It is already clear to everyone who has worked with him that Joseph will become every bit as big a name as Ralph."

"My love of theatre was what carried me into acting. The moment ofcollaboration between the actor and an audience, that moment of witness nothing can take my love of that away." He pauses, to think. "But you can't plan what happens next. I just try to keep limber and loose and prepared." - Joseph Fiennes quoted to Brian Logan in Time Out, Feb. 5, 2003